State police investigators say that evidence led them to Michael Kinge, and that officers killed him when he pointed a shotgun at them during the execution of a search warrant.
[3] His mother, Shirley Kinge, admitted to using a credit card stolen from the Harris home, which led investigators to consider her a potential accomplice.
[6] The Court of Claims eventually ruled in favor of Kinge on the claims of (1) malicious prosecution and (2) negligent supervision and awarded her $286,312,[7] noting as follows: "In sum, the actions of Senior Investigator McElligott, or in this case, an unjustified and complete lack of supervision and control, allowed Investigator Harding the time and opportunity to fabricate fingerprint evidence which ultimately became the only significant evidence placing claimant at the Harris home.
Without such evidence, this court finds that probable cause did not exist to prosecute claimant for any of the crimes which occurred at the Harris family home.
Claimant's own admitted criminal conduct in possessing, utilizing, and forging the signature of Dolores Harris on a credit card brought the focus of the investigation upon her.
Despite her testimony to the contrary at this trial, the court finds that claimant was a willing participant with her son in this scheme to use credit cards belonging to the Harris family.
Even if the court accepts her testimony that she was completely unaware of what transpired at the Harris home, her willingness to participate has been established by her actions in forging a signature to a credit card, and then using that card, which was indisputably obtained from the Harris home, to purchase personal items for her own benefit within hours of the burglary, murders, and arson.